I wanna jam it wid you ...

I've been going jam crazy over the last couple of weeks. Mango, apricot, apple, blueberry ... I have more jam in my fridge than I know what to do with. It's easy to get carried away because it's really so easy to make jam and, trust me, homemade jams taste undescribably better than store bought ones. Check out the recipe for the mango jam I made HERE. The picture above is an apricot jam I made using organic apricots: an indulgence surely, but organic fruit (or food for that matter) is much tastier and better and I was in the mood for some superior goodness.  I used just 4 smallish apricots which yielded slightly more jam to filla 30 ml jar with. I included the recipe for the apricot Jam in this month's Don't Call Me Chef column which focused on preserved food. Click HERE for the article/recipe.

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I've found numerous sites on jam making online that are quite  interesting. My next jam project is with tomatoes. I haven't quite completed my research on tomato jam (I kinda go crazy with "research") yet but  you could check out THIS link for a Tomato Jam which looks quite fun to make.

For simple, basic tips on making your own jam check THIS site which gives you ten tips for making the perfect jam, jelly or marmalade. It's really all you need to know if you aren't keen on trawling the net for 100 different ways to make a simple bottle of jam.

If you too, like me, have gone J-amok and have too much jam on your hands, you may want to consider baking with Jam.  I made some PEANUT BUTTER AND JAM COOKIES last week and they were an easy and tasty alternative to your standard PBJ sandwich. HERE's another pretty cookie I want to try sometime soon: Almond Linzer star cookies, they're called.

Pies and tarts are also a wonderful way of utilising your jam. I like this recipe for Italian Jam tart on The Fresh Loaf:  just click here.

If you've got any ideas, I'd love to hear them and try them too. Let's all jam together, shall we?